Oprah Winfrey

If ever there were proof that hard work and a good attitude can take you far in Hollywood, Oprah Winfrey would be it. The talk show host was born to an unwed teenage mother, raised by her grandmother until she was 6, and later lived with her mother and half-sister in a boardinghouse in Milwaukee. The small family relied on welfare to get by; Winfrey -- who also endured sexual abuse as a young child -- is now reportedly worth $2.7 billion.